Esports world champion, debuted as the center of a talent show

Jiang Zhiyu sat in the backstage dressing room, where the same makeup artist was applying his makeup for the third public performance.

She held the makeup brush between her fingertips and gently applied it to his face, her movements practiced and tender.

The backstage area was a bit noisy, but this corner of the dressing room was exceptionally quiet.

As the makeup artist applied the color, she spoke softly, her tone tinged with emotion: "I think you are really perfect for the makeup and styling concept of 'Wildfire' this time."

She paused for two seconds after she finished speaking, then laughed and contradicted herself: "That's not right either. Putting style aside, there's no such thing as an unsuitable makeup look for your face."

Jiang Zhiyu did not move.

Because he wasn't allowed to move around.

Before the makeup artist started, he was repeatedly told that there weren't enough makeup artists for the trainees, and everyone's makeup time had to be shortened, so he couldn't move around during the makeup process and affect the schedule.

Jiang Zhiyu kept his face tense, not even changing the curve of his lips.

The makeup artist didn't intend to talk to Jiang Zhiyu and continued talking to herself: "I have a feeling that this makeup and styling of yours will produce a lot of pictures."

The makeup and styling theme for the "Wildfire" group is war-damaged.

The makeup artist used extremely light touches, carefully applying scratch makeup to his cheeks and jawline, making the red, broken skin look exceptionally realistic.

Then, lightly blend a touch of blood color onto the corners of her lips.

The red hue stood out on his fair face, possessing not only a deadly magic that drew everyone's attention, but also an allure that made people want to reach out and touch it.

Despite being battle-damaged makeup, it somehow looked different on Jiang Zhiyu's face.

His hair was styled in a wet, tousled side part, with wispy strands falling naturally across his forehead and a few slightly damp hairs clinging to his neck. This made him appear more mature and rebellious, losing some of the gentle and clean-cut boyish charm he had when he wasn't wearing makeup.

His stage costume for the third public performance was a pure black workwear set with a thin silver chain and leather ornaments hanging from his waist.

Outside the dressing room, the sounds of the venue could be faintly heard.

To preserve the stage surprises as much as possible, there will be no backstage live broadcast for this third performance.

The official stage had not yet started, but the venue's large screen was playing classic stage clips from the first and second performances on a loop. Audience members who had arrived early cheered as they saw their favorite trainees perform.

Meanwhile, inside the performance venue, in the side restrooms away from the stage.

Most of the crowd surged towards the front of the stage, leaving the restrooms unusually quiet, with hardly anyone in sight.

A girl had just finished distributing Jiang Zhiyu's fan-made personal support materials to her fellow fans. She came in, quickly washed her hands and tidied herself up, preparing to return to her seat.

As I approached the cubicle, I caught a glimpse of a remarkably familiar figure out of the corner of my eye.

The man was wearing a loose black casual jacket, with his hat pulled down very low, completely obscuring most of his eyebrows and eyes. He practically screamed: "I'm very low-key."

Even though she was wrapped up so tightly, the girl, a longtime River fan, still recognized her at a glance—it was Vax.

RXG fans are well aware that the team is currently in a slump, and even winning a victory has become a difficult task, let alone looking forward to the World Championship.

The girl froze on the spot, her heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively held her breath, not daring to move or make a sound.

She never expected to see Vax here, because he seemed completely out of place in this atmosphere.

Her first thought was: Doesn't RXG have any scrims today?

My second thought was: Did he come to see the River?

Vax seemed surprised to see someone there. He paused, his movements slightly halting, before turning his head slightly to look over.

The two stared at each other silently for two seconds, the air unusually still.

It was Vax who spoke first, his voice low and pleading: "Please don't tell anyone that you saw me here."

The girl quickly snapped out of her daze, nodded vigorously, and said in a very soft voice, "I...I know, I would never lie!"

She subconsciously filled in all the possible reasons in her mind, and the more she thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed.

The online controversy surrounding Vax has been ongoing for some time now.

Various complaints, doubts, and comparisons emerged one after another, constantly appearing on the trending search list, and the topic was criticized almost every day.

Many netizens mocked him, saying he was inferior to River, unworthy of being the successor, incompetent, and a wage thief who just coasted along.

He faced a barrage of negative comments and immense public pressure.

So, from the girl's perspective, the reason Vax secretly appeared at the performance venue at this moment, not daring to be discovered, was because he was afraid that netizens would find something to criticize him for not training to come to the performance.

So the girl spoke up again, assuring everyone with a clear "I understand": "Don't worry, I'll keep it a secret and won't let you get any more scolding because of this."

As a River fan, she was always angry that he was "unreliable".

But everyone knows that the poor performance in the new season is not just due to Vax, but also because the team has not yet achieved good synergy.

But that's how competitive sports are; someone always has to take the blame for losing a game.

After hearing her words, Vax did not respond. He remained silent for two seconds, then turned his head slightly to avoid her gaze, offering neither explanation nor rebuttal.

What the girl didn't know was that he wasn't afraid of being criticized for being lazy or facing public opinion.

From beginning to end, he was only afraid of Jiang Zhiyu finding out.

He was afraid that Jiang Zhiyu would find out that he had secretly come to the scene specifically to see his performance on stage.

He was afraid that Jiang Zhiyu would think he was making a fuss over nothing, and that it was inexplicable that Jiang Zhiyu would casually come to watch his performance during the training match after making such a bold statement.

So he preferred to hide himself completely, avoiding everyone's gaze, sitting quietly in the shadows, watching his entire performance before leaving without a trace.

Seeing that he didn't speak, the girl assumed he was in a bad mood and didn't want to talk much, so she sensibly didn't ask any more questions. After quickly tidying up her things, she quietly left the bathroom.

The bathroom was completely quiet again.

Vax remained standing still for two seconds, then gently pressed down the brim of his hat to cover his eyes and brows more completely. He then stepped out of the restroom with a light and graceful gait, and followed a secluded passage to the VIP viewing area at the back of the venue.

The VIP area is located in a secluded and hidden location, far from the regular audience seating area. It has very little foot traffic and is extremely private, making it the area in the entire venue that is least likely to be photographed or discovered.